Travel Essentials Blog

Whenever I travel outside the U.S. I wear a money belt. You never know when you’ll have to look out for pick pockets, scam artists and muggers, and I’d rather be safe than sorry. I use my money belt for my passport, my credit cards, larger amounts of cash, train or airline tickets, and any other card or paper items of value. I always keep out enough cash to use during the day in a zippered pocket of my pants or skirt, or in a zippered pocket of my backpack, that way I’m not getting in and out of my money belt throughout the day, and if someone steals my backpack, they’ve only gotten that $50 in cash. All my important documents and excess cash however, are tucked away in the money belt. More than anything else, I feel better when my valuables are in my money belt and not in my bag.

My backpack was zipped open while it was on my back in San Jose, Costa Rica once, but all I had in there was a water bottle and a Lonely Planet Costa Rica guidebook (and neither were stolen!). Money belts come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and can go around your neck, around your waist, hook to a bra, strap to your leg, or even be used as a regular belt (but with a hidden compartment for rolled up cash). They come in a variety of comfortable fabrics too. My advice: protect your valuables and get extra peace of mind when you’re traveling with a money belt.

Visit our website to check out a variety of money belts and pouches!

by Nancy Bestor

Our hotel on the island of Caye Caulker in Belize listed that no children under 10 were allowed as guests. Several years ago, when my girls were under the age of 10, I would have been outraged. Now that my daughters are teenagers, I thought to myself, “You know, that’s not a bad idea!” This leads me to the issue of allowing children (even those paying full price) to sit in first class on an airplane. Malaysia Airlines announced recently that they are banning infants from first class of their Boeing 747-400 jets (full story here). I’m sure most everyone has a story to tell about being on a long flight with a crying (or even screaming) baby. I can’t forget the time we flew to Paris from San Francisco with a baby who DID NOT STOP CRYING. And whose parents DID NOT TRY TO STOP HIM FROM CRYING. True story. But such is life. Babies cry. We don’t have to like it, but when flying on an airplane we certainly have to deal with it.

But a ban on infants in first class…..hmmm…..Malaysia Air CEO Tengku Azmil says the airline has received many complaints from first class customers who have paid a lot of money and are not able to sleep, due to crying infants. But aren’t the parents of said infants paying a lot of money too? While I would like to fly without crying babies, or overly talkative passengers, or people directly in front of me who put their seat in the full reclining position the entire flight (RUDE, RUDE, RUDE), I can’t help but think if a traveler is willing to pay for a seat, they deserve that seat. Whether they are a crying baby, or a talkative seatmate, or an unbathed traveler. Yes, it stinks (sometimes quite literally) to sit near someone who might not be an ideal traveler. And yes, it is inconsiderate when parents do nothing about their annoying child who runs up and down the aisle. But banning children? It seems a little extreme to me. I’d be surprised if U.S. airlines follow Malaysia’s lead and adopt this policy. I would not be surprised, however, to see airlines doing away with the discounted children’s rates for some international fares. Nor would I be surprised if airlines stopped allowing lap babies under age two to fly free. But is there a way airlines can profit from odiferous or annoying passengers? I’m sure they’re looking into it.

by Nancy Bestor
Hmmmm…..I remember when Bob and I were dating. Flowers were given for no reason at all. Dinners were eaten out at nice big city restaurants.  Picnics at sunset were planned under the Golden Gate Bridge. And surprise adventures, to places like Dr. Wilkinson’s Hot Springs in Calistoga, were taken for a massage and mud bath. Driving through Calistoga last weekend, on our way to a family reunion on the Russian River, I couldn’t help but wax nostalgic as I told my teenage daughters “yes, your Dad and I were fun and romantic once.” I’m not sure they believed me…..

We passed through beautiful Calistoga to spend a long 4^th of July weekend on the Russian River, in Monte Rio, California.  It was my parents 50^th wedding anniversary, and our extended family of ten got together to celebrate this milestone and enjoy each other’s company. I booked a house for the whole clan to share right on the river through a private owner via www.vrbo.com (Vacation Rentals By Owner). It was another successful VRBO rental, proving to me yet again that you don’t need a middle man when renting a vacation home. The house was as advertised, the price was right, we spent an extra $49 for VRBO’s “Carefree Rental Guarantee” and everything worked according to plan.

The Russian River is yet another beautiful corner of Northern California. Monte Rio is just a 15 minute drive from the Pacific Ocean and lovely Goat Rock Beach, where we spent a couple of lazy afternoons. Monte Rio is also close to lots more cute towns that make for great days trips, including Sebastopol, Occidental and Guerneville. Our vacation home came with kayaks and canoes for paddling on the Russian River, and there were lots of small town 4^th of July festivities in the area that weekend, including a river boat show, a fireworks display, and a water curtain show, where members of the fire department pump water over the bridge and then light the “water curtain” with different colors and images. Hokey? Yes. Fun? Yes!

We did a fair bit of exploring around the towns in the area. In Sebastopol I shopped for used cowboy boots at Saddles to Boots. This is a store for real cowboys, and their used boot selection is quite large. We also stopped for deliciously fresh rosemary bread and sticky buns at Wild Flour Bread (www.wildflourbread.com), a wood fired, brick oven bakery in Freestone. We took a lovely drive in swanky St. Helena (twice, since I was lucky enough to get us lost!), with its stunning wineries and restaurants, but missed out on an opportunity to eat hamburgers and drink milk shakes at the wildly popular Gotts Roadside food stand (www.gotts.com). Bob and I also enjoyed an early morning round of golf at the gorgeous Alister MacKenzie (of Augusta National and Cypress Point fame) designed nine-hole Northwood Golf Club (www.northwoodgolf.com) in Monte Rio. The last time Bob played there he was 13 years old. I won’t tell you how long ago that was.

On our way out of town we stopped in Calistoga, where Bob bought me coffee and a muffin. It was so romantic.

A frequent complaint of travelers is the length of time it takes for a plane to board or de-board its passengers. I am amazed at how long it often takes people in front of me to find their seat and get their carry-on stowed either in the overhead bin or below the seat. Airline pilot Patrick Smith, in his blog, www.askthepilot.com, has a simple solution. Passengers should put their carry-on bags in the overhead bin above their seat. Passengers who put bags into bins at the front of the plane, worrying that they won’t have space above their seat, slow things down for everyone.  Then when those passengers who are sitting in the front of the plane get on, they have to look towards the back of the plane to find overhead space, and so on, and so on, and so on. Smith goes on to suggest the idea of assigned bins. Immediately, I think of this scenario from one of my favorite airlines who shall remain nameless, but whose names starts with a U and ends in a D: Your first assigned overhead bin space is free, and must be no greater in size than a breadbox. Additional assigned overhead bin spaces will cost anywhere from $25-$150.

Read more here.

by Nancy Bestor

One of my favorite San Francisco neighborhoods is North Beach. I have great memories of outstanding pasta dishes at authentic Italian restaurants (Firenze by Night Ristorante), drinks at popular watering holes (Vesuvio), and long Friday afternoon work lunches at the Washington Square Bar and Grill. Returning almost 20 years later as a tourist, I still find the neighborhood a delight. There’s much to see and explore, including a hike up to Coit Tower for a look at the impressive New Deal era murals in the lobby and a chance to see San Francisco from the top of the 210-foot tower that was built in 1933. Before our recent visit, we had just watched the quirky documentary about the more than 200 wild birds that live in the neighborhood below the tower (Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill). Seeing them fly around the tower on our visit made this stop even more fun.

After some extensive first hand taste testing research, we have determined the best San Francisco gelato shop to be in North Beach as well. We’ve eaten gelato at Gelato Classico Italian (just off Washington Square at 576 Union) on many occasions. We usually try at least four different flavors on each visit, and have not been disappointed. My favorite remains a combination of dark chocolate and vanilla (which my family deems as “incredibly boring”), but we’ve also loved the blood orange, mango, peanut butter and chocolate, and coffee flavors. Gelato Classico is a cash only establishment.

We can’t visit North Beach without stopping to people watch in Washington Square Park (Union & Columbus). With the beautiful Sts. Peter and Paul Church in the background (where Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio were photographed after their wedding in 1954), the Park is a great place to catch some sun and watch the locals toss a frisbee, play with their dogs and even get their formal portraits taken with their most prized possessions (in one case a szitzu puppy). We also find this an excellent spot to eat our gelato from Gelato Classico.

We recently happened into a delightful North Beach antique map and bookstore. Schein & Schein (1435 Grant Ave.) sells fascinating antique maps with an inventory that boasts everything from maps of San Francisco neighborhoods to maps of the world. We had a great time viewing maps from the early days of the East Bay, our original stomping grounds. Owner Jimmie Schein is amazingly knowledgeable and enthusiastic about his collection and how each piece ties into Bay Area, U.S. and world history. And to top it off he’s truly delighted to share his love of maps. Schein & Schein is definitely worth a stop on any tour of San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood.

Credit Card Chip

by Nancy Bestor

Customers often ask our opinion about the best way to get foreign currency when traveling abroad. Since the traveler’s check has become a dinosaur, the most economical way to pay for purchases abroad is to either obtain currency from an ATM machine, or use a credit card that does not charge a transaction fee (such as a Capitol One card). ATM machines do of course charge a per transaction fee, and sometimes a percentage fee as well, so we try and get as much cash out of one ATM transaction as we are allowed (usually between $300-500 per day).

However, our preferred method of spending is our Capitol One card. With Capitol One we don’t pay anything extra in exchange or transaction fees. But we have run into a few problems using this card in other countries. The reason? US bank issued credit cards use magnetic stripe technology, while credit cards in Europe use the “smart card” or chip and PIN technology. European credit card terminals can still accept magnetic stripe cards, but they must be processed in a different way, and many European businesses and their employees do not know how to process them.

When we ran into this problem, we asked the business to run the card again, and in most cases they were able to figure out how to accept our card. US Banks are beginning to catch up to banks in Europe, but chip and PIN credit cards are still in the trial phase, issued by some banks to frequent international travelers as part of a pilot program. The best advice I can give to customers is to have an alternative method of payment available as a backup, whether it is another credit card, cash, or even a quick dash to a nearby ATM machine. For more information on this issue read this story in the New York Times.

Here’s another story on the same subject from www.creditcards.com.

by Nancy Bestor

We took a weekend trip to Portland last month to see Billy Elliott, a belated Christmas present to our teenage daughters, and found time to visit a couple of hugely popular Portland eateries. We began with an early morning stop at Voodoo Doughnut. Even though the line ran out the door, the fairly ratty Pepto Bismol-pink building, and the old couches strewn about outside that can best be described as the kind you see on residential streets with signs marked “free” on them, made me a bit leery. Opened in 2003, Voodoo Doughnut now boasts two Portland locations as well as a shop in Eugene, and has a huge, dedicated following as evidenced by the large group of Japanese tourists who eagerly hopped off their tour bus and got in line right behind us. FOR DOUGHNUTS! The interior decoration of the shop is pretty much a shrine to country music crooner Kenny Rogers, who we hear is the spiritual leader of Voodoo Doughnut.

Bob had the “Old Dirty Bastard”, a raised doughnut covered with chocolate frosting, crushed Oreo cookies, and drizzled with peanut butter. I had the “Triple chocolate penetration”, a chocolate cake doughnut with chocolate frosting and coco-puffs on top. The signature doughnut at Voodoo Doughnut is, you guessed it, the Voodoo Doll doughnut. It’s voodoo doll shaped, filled with raspberry jelly and comes with a pretzel stick stake. Recently two popular offerings were removed from the Voodoo menu. Thanks to the health department, you can no longer get a Nyquil Glazed Doughnut, or Vanilla Pepto Crushed Tums Doughnut at 4am, after you’ve been drinking all evening. Too bad. Voodoo is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and while they are certainly not the best doughnuts I’ve ever tasted, it is worth a visit for their unique offerings and kooky experience. Oh, and one more thing, Voodoo offers legal wedding services, complete with doughnuts and coffee.

Another great stop on our Portland eating extravaganza was the ever delicious and ever popular Pok-Pok. Opened in 2006, Pok-Pok describes their cuisine as Thai street food. I describe it as delicious. On two separate visits to Portland we have dined at Pok-Pok and thoroughly enjoyed every dish we have been served. Is my favorite dish the spicy Vietnamese fish sauce chicken wings? Or perhaps it’s Yam Makheua Yao, a charcoal grilled eggplant salad. But then there’s the Neua Nam Tok, a spicy steak salad. It’s impossible to choose as they are all quite scrumptious. Pok-Pok won the Oregonian’s restaurant of the year in 2007. We suggest arriving early for lunch or late in the afternoon for an early dinner to avoid the sometimes very long wait for a table. The food is delicious.

by Nancy Bestor

I recently received a letter informing me that the 5,600 miles in my 14-year-old daughter’s United Airlines Frequent Flyer account are set to expire in September. The same letter also offered me subscriptions to several magazines as a way to “use” those miles before their expiration. I admit that I am a skeptic when I get solicitations like this in the mail, so I did a little research.

After tracking down my daughter’s frequent flyer number AND password (no easy feat) I determined that, yes she does have 5,600 miles in her account and yes, they are expiring in September (I was not being lied to!). With a little bit more research I also verified that yes, I could turn in my miles and obtain subscriptions to wonderfully glossy magazines like People, Glamour, ESPN and even GQ.

I also learned, however that I could extend the expiration date of the miles by 18 months with ANY “activity”. Activity includes flying (but we have no trips planned before September), booking a trip with miles (5,600 miles is not enough to book a ticket), using a mileage plus credit card (we don’t have one connected to this account), transferring the miles to another account (at 1.5 cents per mile), or registering the account and shopping with one of United Airlines’ MileagePlus Shopping partners (bingo!).

It turns out that United has hundreds of online retail partners where I can register my frequent flyer number when making a purchase and therefore have “activity” on the account and extend the validity of the miles. Now I’m the first person to say that I could happily sit down with a People magazine and a box of See’s Candy and while away an afternoon. But really, it seems a shame to waste 5,600 miles on magazine subscriptions. I wonder how many people get suckered in by this mail offer and don’t realize they have other options? Apparently it’s enough to make it worth United Airlines effort to make a deal with a magazine subscription company that’s for sure.

For a complete list of MileagePlus online retailers visit https://www.mileageplusshopping.com.

by Nancy Bestor

Customers often fret over whether or not they should bother locking their luggage. A popular argument against locking goes like this: if a thief really wants to get into your suitcase, they can do so whether or not the bag is locked. While that is true, the fact remains that most thieves are looking for an easy target—a bag without a lock.

Beginning with the airport, any time you are away from your bag is a good time for a lock. “Blogger Bob”, a TSA employee who writes a blog on the TSA website, recently told travel writer Chris Elliott that between 2003 and 2010, “only” 335 TSA employees had been fired for theft (of any kind). While that might not seem like a large number, that’s just the number who have been caught. We all know the TSA doesn’t have a great track record of catching things—I can name a couple items on my last trip that accidentally made it through the security checkpoint, but are on the banned list.

We also recommend locks when leaving your bag at your hotel. Again, if a hotel employee really wants to get into your suitcase, they can cut or break it open, but a lock is still a good deterrent. Most likely that potential thief doesn’t want to take the extra time to remove a lock, nor do they want to go through the trouble of disposing the evidence created by breaking a lock.

Currently my favorite option is the Lockdown Triple Security Lock. The Triple Security Lock is really two cable-style locks in one. The first is a TSA approved cable-lock for your zippers and the second cable-lock is designed to attach to another part of your bag. So with the second cable locked onto your bag’s handle, when the TSA unlocks your bag for inspection, this second cable-lock ensures that the lock stays attached to your suitcase whether your friendly TSA agent takes the trouble to re-lock your bag or not. The second cable can also be used to lock a bag to a fixed object, such as a desk leg or a pole. You can even lock two suitcases or bags together. It’s a versatile option for $13.95.

And as a Travel Essentials customer once sagely noted, “a lock keeps an honest person honest”.

by Nancy Bestor

A friend recently asked if US citizens really need six months left on their passport’s expiration date when traveling abroad. When researching the answer, it wasn’t long before I realized that there is quite a bit of conflicting information on the internet regarding this very issue. Here’s the background.

Several years ago, the U.S. State Department issued a notice warning that many countries now require US passports to be valid for at least six months beyond the date of your trip. In other words, if you are traveling in June, your passport expiration date must be no earlier than December. The State Department website goes on to say that some airlines will not allow you to board if this requirement is not met. When I tried to determine which countries are included in this six-month rule, I got very confused. The information on Spain offers an example. One site listed Spain as requiring six months, while another said that Spain required only three months of remaining validity on a US passport. I could not find the “official” word anywhere about this issue. 

So, my advice to my friend was this – don’t try to travel to ANY COUNTRY with a passport that has less than six months until its expiration. It is also best to be proactive and have a new passport issued before you reach the “six-month” threshold. You never know when an impromptu, great opportunity to travel in another country will to present itself. Don’t find yourself in a situation where you have to say no because your passport will expire in four months, five months, or just under six months. Check the expiration date on your passport wherever it may be, (and may I advise you keep it in a fireproof box or safe?) and write a reminder on your calendar to renew it when you have eight to 12 months left before expiration. And remember, adult passports are valid for 10 years, but if your child received a passport when they were age 15 or under, their passport is only good for five years. For more information on how to renew your passport, click here.